Michelle O’Donnell is a Master’s candidate in Civil Engineering. She graduated from Northeastern University in 2016 with a BS in Environmental Science. While working towards her degree, she worked for the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration in the River Instream Flow Stewards program, USGS in the New England Water Science Center, and in the Coastal Systems Group at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Carli’s research aims to quantify post-wildfire hydrologic and water quality effects in the U.S. West. Her most recent work focused on a regional-scale analysis of water quality constituent response after wildfires using statistical and machine-learning techniques. Her previous work includes designing and constructing laboratory-scale wildfire and rainfall simulation experiments, as well as publishing an extensive review on the state-of-the-art.
Estimating Western US Reservoir Sedimentation
Stress on global water resources is expected to increase in the coming decades making reservoir operations critical for sustainable water management. Reservoir sedimentation is a long-term challenge for water management across the western U.S. since it reduces available storage. Sedimentation observations are limited to reservoir surveys that are costly and infrequent, with many reservoirs having two or fewer surveys spanning decades. In most cases, sediment is assumed to accumulate at a constant rate through time.
Simulation of Montane Snowpacks for the Preservation of the Wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) in the Western U.S.
A major gap in research on the future of snowpack in the western United States is accounting for snow persistence in relation to topographical effects like terrain aspect and slope, which have important consequences for species that rely on snow for habitat in alpine regions, such as the wolverine (Gulo gulo). Previous work has shown a predicted loss of snow-covered area in Montana (which encompasses much of the Wolverine’s extent range) ranging from 50 – 85%.
Assessing the Impacts of Wildfire on Sedimentation and Runoff in the Colorado Front Range
The complex effects of wildfire disturbances on the quality and availability of water are far-reaching and often difficult to anticipate, thus proving a challenge for prediction. Many studies have documented wildfire on either continental or hillslope scales, yet most critically overlook the interaction of local-scale processes across entire watersheds following a fire disturbance.
Elsa Culler is interested in the ways in which land and water management decisions interact with the changing climate. Currently her research projects include the impacts of wildfires on the likelihood of future landslides and modeling present and future sediment accumulation in dams. Prior to coming to CU Boulder, she worked on data management and security software and informal engineering education for middle- and high-school students. She earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in 2013.
Sedimentation and runoff in the Colorado Front Range: Diagnosing fire-related changes
Heldmyer, A. J., B. Livneh, and S. Kampf, CIRES Rendezvous, Boulder, CO, May 2018: Sedimentation and runoff in the Colorado Front Range: Diagnosing fire-related changes
Assessing the Impacts of Wildfire on Sedimentation and Runoff in the Colorado Front Range
Heldmyer, A. J., B. Livneh, and S. Kampf, Hydrology Days, Fort Collins, CO, March 2018: Assessing the Impacts of Wildfire on Sedimentation and Runoff in the Colorado Front Range
Soil Moisture Data Assimilation to Estimate Irrigation Water Use
A Multi-Platform Approach to Generate Gridded Surface Evaporation
Evapotranspiration is an integral component of the surface water balance. While there are many estimates of evapotranspiration, there are fewer estimates that partition evapotranspiration into evaporation and transpiration components. My work aims to generate a CONUS-scale, observationally-based soil evaporation dataset by using the time difference of surface soil moisture by Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite with adjustments for transpiration and a bottom flux out of the surface layer.